15 Fun Activities to Get Your Kids Outside This Summer

When we were kids, we spent our summer days playing outside with our friends. Nowadays, children are glued to their screens and don’t want to go out. How can you motivate your kids to play outside? Here are fifteen fun activities to help them enjoy the outdoors this summer.

Sidewalk Art

Give them some chalk so they can get creative on the driveway and sidewalks. They’re in for hours of fun.

Water Balloon Fight

Get a bunch of neighborhood kids together for a water balloon fight.

Sprinklers

Get the hose out and put a sprinkler extension so the kids can run through the water to refresh themselves on a hot summer day.

Treasure Hunt

Make an outdoor treasure hunt. Hide a toy outside and have the kids find it. For a fun twist, hide a vegetable from your garden, like a cucumber. It blends in more easily with nature, and the kids can eat it once they find it.

Sandbox

Make a sandbox for your little ones. Give them a small shovel and a few buckets. Ask them to build a sand castle or make some roads. Add a few toy trucks and you won’t hear them for a while.

Jump in a Puddle

While it’s raining or just after, bring your kids outside and find a puddle. Challenge them to make the biggest splash. Help them enjoy the outdoors, no matter the weather.

Roll Down a Hill

Organize a race. The kids roll down a hill, then run back up and roll down again. The first one down the hill the second time around wins. It’s harder than you think, and everybody will be in for a good laugh.

Watch the Clouds

Lie down on the grass with your kids and look for shapes and images in the clouds. It’s fun and relaxing.

Watch Insects

Get your kids interested in the life of bugs. Point them out to them and tell them a bit about how they live and work.

Rock Collection

Who didn’t have a rock collection when they were kids? Help them start one by hunting for original rocks.

Build Things

Bring their dolls and toy cars out so they can build roads, houses, and furniture out of natural resources at hand like dirt, mud, twigs, and leaves. It’s like bringing part of their indoor play outside, but with a whole new playground.

Gardening

Ask your kids to help you in the garden. They get to play in the dirt while doing something useful.

Camp in the Backyard

Set up a tent in your backyard. You can camp as a family, or if your kids are old enough, they can have a sleepover with friends.

Blow Bubbles

Get a bubble kit and blow some bubbles.

Scavenger Hunt

Go for a walk in the woods and send your children on a scavenger hunt. They can either find various objects like two types of leaves or a green rock, or they can do things like walk on a log or skip rocks.

Set the Example

You can’t expect your children to go outside if you never go yourself. Set the example by going outside with them to play and spend quality time. Make it a family goal. You’ll enjoy your summer so much more and will open a whole new world to your children.